SENATOR Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday warned that sleeper agents and operatives of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have already entered the Philippines to conduct espionage.
Meanwhile, Senator Raffy Tulfo scored anew defense and military officials for allowing a Chinese telecommunications company to install a tower inside Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
“The whole network of espionage operations must be dismantled or at least significantly weakened because agents come and go. You arrest one, and another will take their place. And based on reliable information, there are many sleeper agents here, even regular members of the PLA,” Lacson noted.
“It’s widespread,” he added.
Lacson said the situation requires government security agencies to carry out sustained pursuit operations against those arrested in earlier anti-espionage raids.
The senator lamented that the country still relies on Commonwealth Act 616, a decades-old law that governs espionage cases, while foreign intelligence operations remain active.
He said Chinese nationals were previously apprehended for alleged spying in several sensitive areas, including Palawan, Makati, Dumaguete, Camp Aguinaldo, the Commission on Elections headquarters in Manila, and near Malacañang.
“Pursuit operations must continue without let-up. If we rest on our laurels, we become complacent and relaxed, but that should not be the case. Instead, we must intensify our efforts and remain more vigilant in carrying out intelligence and law enforcement operations,” he stressed.
During the Senate defense committee hearing, National Bureau of Investigation official Ferdinand Lavin reported that at least six operations have resulted in the arrest of 19 suspected spies.
Thirteen of those arrested were Chinese, five were Filipinos, and one was Cambodian, according to Lavin.
He said the Filipinos served as guides, drivers, or aides and were used as tools by the foreign agents.
The senator questioned why such a project was permitted right inside the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) headquarters despite long-standing concerns about foreign espionage.
“Was this not vetted? Why was it allowed? I’ve been asking this over and over, but nobody can give me the correct answer,” he said.
Tulfo alleged that the facility could give foreign entities an opportunity to intercept sensitive signals and monitor military activities within the camp.
He warned that allowing the tower to operate in a strategic military site exposes the Philippines to potential surveillance threats.
The senator recalled that he had repeatedly asked both the Department of National Defense (DND) and the AFP about the project in previous hearings.
According to Tulfo, neither agency has provided a concrete answer to explain why the tower was allowed inside a high-security military installation.
During the Senate hearing, defense officials admitted they had no direct knowledge of the specifics of the tower’s construction.
DND representatives told lawmakers they would need more time to gather information from the offices directly involved in the project.
Tulfo criticized the repeated deferrals, saying the military and defense department have long promised detailed explanations but failed to deliver them.
“So in our next hearing next year, I’ll ask the same question again, and then you or anyone from the military or DND will just say, ‘I’ll get back to you.’ Is that always the answer?” the lawmaker remarked.
He expressed frustration that despite raising the issue several times over the past years, the agencies continued to respond with vague assurances.
The senator insisted that the matter should not be taken lightly, given the ongoing tensions in the West Philippine Sea and the importance of national security.
He then suggested that if there was no compelling reason for the tower to remain inside Camp Aguinaldo, authorities should consider removing it.
DND officials vowed to submit a comprehensive report to the Senate before the end of the week.
Tulfo gave assurance that he will continue pressing the matter until the public receives a clear explanation.
“If we are serious about defending the country, then projects like this should never be allowed inside our biggest military camp,” he pointed out.
